Establishes a formula for the distribution of State
aid to school districts.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

As introduced.

An Act concerning State school aid and supplementing Title 18A
of the New Jersey Statutes.

Whereas, Paragraph 1 of Article III states, “The powers
of the government shall be divided among three distinct branches, the
legislative, executive, and judicial. No person or persons belonging to or
constituting one branch shall exercise any of the powers properly belonging to either
of the others, except as expressly provided in this Constitution;” and

Whereas, Paragraph 1 of Section IV of Article VIII
states, “The Legislature shall provide for the maintenance and support of a
thorough and efficient system of free public schools for the instruction of all
the children in the State between the ages of five and eighteen years;” and

Whereas, Paragraph 2 of Section IV of Article VIII
states, “The fund for the support of free public schools...shall be annually
appropriated to the support of free public schools, and for the equal benefit
of all the people of the State;” and

Whereas, Paragraph 7 of Section I of Article VIII states
that the income tax is to be, “...annually appropriated...exclusively for the
purpose of reducing or offsetting property taxes;” now, therefore,

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Notwithstanding the
provisions of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 et al.) or any other law to the
contrary, State school aid for the first school year beginning after the
effective date of P.L. , c. (C. )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill) and for each subsequent school
year shall be provided to school districts as follows:

a. The Department of
Education shall determine each public school district’s projected resident
enrollment for the budget year and the total Statewide public school resident
enrollment.

b. The State Treasurer
shall determine the total projected revenue from the State income tax for the
budget year.

c. State aid for each
school district for the budget year shall be determined pursuant to the
following formula:

TDSA = (TITR/TSE) * TDE

where

TDSA is School District State
Aid;

TITR is Total Projected Income
Tax Revenue;

TSE is Total Projected
Resident Enrollment; and

TDE is District Projected
Resident Enrollment.

2. This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

Whereas, paragraph 1 of Article III states,
“The powers of the government shall be divided among three distinct branches,
the legislative, executive, and judicial. No person or persons belonging to or
constituting one branch shall exercise any of the powers properly belonging to
either of the others, except as expressly provided in this Constitution.”

Whereas,
paragraph 1 of Section IV of Article VIII states, “The Legislature shall
provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of
free public schools for the instruction of all the children in the State
between the ages of five and eighteen years.”

Whereas,
paragraph 2 of Section IV of Article VIII states, “The fund for the support of
free public schools...shall be annually appropriated to the support of free
public schools, and for the equal benefit of all the people of the State.”

Whereas,
paragraph 7 of Section I of Article VIII states that the income tax is to be,
“...annually appropriated...exclusively for the purpose of reducing or
offsetting property taxes.”

This bill establishes a new
formula for the allocation of State aid to school districts to satisfy the
Legislature’s constitutional responsibility to provide for a system of free
public schools. The bill provides State aid by determining a per pupil amount
of State aid and multiplying that amount by the school district’s projected
resident enrollment for the budget year. The per pupil State aid amount is
determined after the State Treasurer projects the total revenue amount from the
State income tax for the budget year. Following the determination of the
projected total State income tax, the Department of Education is to divide that
amount by the total projected resident enrollment of the school districts. The
department determines each school district’s State aid by multiplying this per pupil
State aid amount by the district’s projected resident enrollment.